News Release Distributed 10/28/13
BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU’s football team was not the only winner on campus during the 2013 homecoming festivities. The College of Agriculture presented three awards at the annual alumni tailgate party on Oct. 26.
“We decided about 25 years ago when I was associate dean that we wanted to give the alumni a chance to come together and get reacquainted,” said Bill Richardson, LSU vice president for agriculture and dean of the college. “It’s also a time to present awards to some outstanding people associated with the college.”
This year the outstanding alumni awards went to Sen. Bret Allain from Jeanerette and Roger Carter from the Foules community, near Sicily Island. The outstanding teacher award went to Bill Kelso, the F. O. Bateman professor of renewable and natural resources.
Allain graduated from LSU in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering. In addition to representing district 21, he is also a businessman and a sugarcane farmer.
Allain said he began working on the farm with his dad when he was 13 years old, and the skills he acquired on the farm continue to help him today.
“That experience taught me how to be resourceful and how to overcome obstacles through hard work and determination,” Allain said.
As a state senator, Allain serves as co-chair of the Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development committee.
Carter, a 1972 graduate of the college, received his undergraduate degree in entomology, with a minor in plant pathology. In 1975, he received his master’s degree in plant pathology, with a minor in entomology.
In addition to being actively involved in farming himself, Carter has spent most of his professional career as a crop consultant, where he has received numerous awards.
While serving as treasurer on the National Association of Independent Crop Consultants Executive Board, he initiated the “Crawfish Boil on the Hill,” an annual event for congressional leaders and others in Washington, D.C.
Kelso said his background is in fisheries, but he also teaches natural resource conservation courses.
“I’ve been teaching here for 29 years, and I still enjoy helping the students learn new things and learning new things myself about natural resources,” Kelso said.
Johnny Morgan